Now faces two-term incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Nick LaLota in the general election this November
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Chris Gallant, a veteran from Amity Harbor, is now the 2026 Democratic nominee in the race to represent New York’s 1st Congressional District, having bested Lukas Ventouras of Northport in a primary election on Tuesday.
Gallant earned 59.8 percent of the vote in the decisive victory, 11,565 to 6,780. The 37-year-old now faces two-term incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Nick LaLota in the general election this November.
During a brief interview after the race was called on Tuesday night, Gallant said from his election night headquarters at the Backyard in Middle Island that his focus now shifts to unity, not only unifying Democrats but also bringing together Democrats, Republicans and independents.
“We have a moment here to shine and to unify,” he said.
He said that while the 1st Congressional District race has not been getting national media attention, he believes it is a race that can flip a seat.
“The difference between Nick and I is the fact that I’m not a career politician,” Gallant said. “I have dedicated my life to service. This is me just changing the uniform and serving my country and my constituents in a different way. And at the end of the day, I want to show up for them, I want to be there for them, I want to be the person that they can go to voice their complaints to, and they know that they’re going to have a representative that’s going to go to Congress and fight for them.
Gallant is an air traffic controller. His resume also includes U.S. Army National Guard Black Hawk pilot, union president and volunteer firefighter.
His opponent, LaLota, was the chief of staff to the Suffolk County Legislature prior to joining Congress, and is also a veteran, having served with the U.S. Navy and graduated from the United States Naval Academy.
Something else the two men have in common is neither lives in the 1st Congressional District. LaLota lives in Amityville, which like Gallant’s hometown of Amity Harbor is within Suffolk County but not in the district. The Constitution only requires that U.S. representatives live in the same state as the district they represent.
One of Gallant’s takeaways from being a first-time candidate for office is a need for campaign finance reform. He said politicians should be focused on passing laws and serving their constituents, not worrying where their next dollar is coming from.
Gallant noted that he felt the primary race with Ventouras was not as negative as past campaigns.
“Lukas and I had always stood shoulder to shoulder, saying that we would unify at the end of the day, and that’s what I feel that our party is actually going to do this time,” he said.
Ventouras, speaking late Tuesday night, agreed that the tone of the race was very positive. “It was more so about our visions going against each other rather than egos or personalities or anything like that,” he said.
He pledged to stay involved in politics in Suffolk County despite the race’s outcome.
“I’m obviously disappointed,” he said. “I don’t do anything to lose, and there’s a lot of people behind me that were powering the campaign that really believed in our vision.”
He said he was proud of what his campaign and supporters were able to do in the face of “institutional hurdles,” being “well on the outside” and less funded as a 25-year-old law student with no name ID or institutional help from the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, which backed Gallant.
“We think that our vision was better, but you know, at this point, it’s about getting behind Gallant and sort of moving on to November,” he said.
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